A Comparative Study of the Protagonists in Kesey's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and Hamlet by Shakespeare

It is suggested that in modern literature, the true element of tragedy is not captured because the protagonist is often of the same social status as the audience, and therefor, his downfall is not tragic. This opinion, I find, takes little consideration of the times in which we live. Indeed, most modern plays and literature are not about monarchs and the main character is often equal to the common person; this, however, does not mean …

…enjoy seeing the underdog prevail, because it instills hope and inspiration. Both of these texts are fabulous works of art, and although they are geared to different audiences at different points in history, this only enhances them as it allows us to examine ourselves. We do this not through the literature itself, but through the people it is targeted at. From this we can observe how the human race has reached where we stand today.